The present invention relates generally to electrical connector systems for power distribution and signal circuit interconnections between printed circuit boards. More particularly, the invention concerns a hybrid modular connector system in which common, modular, insulating housings that accommodate common, electrically conductive components are interlockable one to another to allow expansion of the electrical connector to any number of power and signal connections as desired.
Generally, there are two types of electrical connectors associated with joining multiple printed circuit boards together (i.e., connecting a mother board to a daughter board). First, power connectors transmit electrical energy between interconnected printed circuit boards. Second, signal connectors transmit operating signals between interconnected printed circuit boards.
In general, off-the-shelf electrical connectors attached to printed circuit boards have been dedicated to operate either solely as power connectors or solely as signal connectors-but not both power connectors and signal connectors in the same connector assembly. Normally, each of these connector types is separately attached to the printed circuit. Independently attaching separate types of connectors thus causes assembly of the printed circuit boards to be costly and time-consuming. Therefore, it is desirable to have both power and signal connectors combined in one rigid, hybrid electrical connector.
Some manufacturers make custom hybrid electrical connectors consisting of both power and signal connections by using a mold that is reducible and expandable. If a user wants two power connections and three signal connections in an electrical connector, the manufacturer expands the mold to produce that configuration and then produces a desired amount of that electrical connector. However, creating the mold is costly therefore a large quantity of electrical connectors must be ordered for the procedure to be cost-effective. Therefore, it would be desirable for a user to be able to produce a small quantity of custom rigid hybrid electrical connectors composed of both signal and power connections.
Modular electrical connector systems, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,090,764 to Malsby et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,471,822 to Van Baelen, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,456,231 to Paullus et al., involve connector modules held together by an external frame member or support. Each individual module in the sequence of modules sits beside another module. All modules of the sequence are held in place by the frame member that runs the length of the module sequence. Attaching the modules to the frame member is cumbersome, time-consuming and costly. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a modular connector system in which the individual modules can be locked to each other instead of to a frame member.